It’s rare for a television series to completely reinvent itself between seasons, but that’s precisely what the showrunners of HBO’s The Leftovers did – and the show’s opening title sequence was a key part of that reinvention. Season two of The Leftovers uproots its characters from sleepy Mapleton, New York and transplants them to the enigmatic town of Jarden, Texas, a place seemingly untouched by the “Sudden Departure.”

Season two’s drastic change of scenery and tone necessitated a new introduction for the series. Charged with succeeding yu+Co’s weighty first season opener, Angus Wall and studio Elastic opted to forego the religious iconography and to reflect the new focus on family and personal realities. Guided by Iris DeMent’s folky “Let The Mystery Be,” the sequence is a montage of photographs depicting the private lives of Americans, from intimate moments to major milestones. The departed appear as silhouettes, outlines filled with natural phenomena – cloud formations, starfields, sunsets – empty spaces left in people’s hearts. Where did they go? What happens now? The opening titles, like the show itself, seem unwilling to offer an answer. And that’s okay.